Kevin Roberts remembers when he could get a bacon cheeseburger, fries and a drink from Five Guys for $10. But that was years ago. When the Virginia high school teacher recently visited the fast-food chain, the food alone without a beverage cost double that amount.
Roberts, 38, now only gets fast food “as a rare treat,” he told CBS MoneyWatch. “Nothing has made me cook at home more than fast-food prices.”
Roberts is hardly alone. Many consumers are expressing frustration at the surge in fast-food prices, which are starting to scare off budget-conscious customers.
A January poll by consulting firm Revenue Management Solutions found that about 25% of people who make under $50,000 were cutting back on fast food, pointing to cost as a concern.
And itll be spun into blaming the cost on pay increases of the workers
I’ve been seeing a metric fuck ton of articles pop up about California’s recent wage hike and blaming the price hikes on that.
Literally in the article…
Yeah they dont waste time
Death of fast food is a treat we can all look forward to. Keep raising those prices geniuses!
I’m seeing more local places popping up. I’m happy with that. $15 for a big Mac meal or $15 for the Chicken tikka masala? I’ll take the big Mac, said no one.
Same here, but the reason this doesn’t work is because a bic Mac meal doesn’t cost $15. It’s more like $10 or even lower with deals. If you are on a budget and have no time to cook, I can see how the cheaper option can still sway the decision. For me, it’s lower than that and will settle for Wendy’s 4 for 5. At $5 bucks, it’s absolutely worth it every now and then when I just want something cheap and quick.
Dave’s combo $9.69 I assume that is a small combo. Local burger place $14.30 that’s with a fountain drink 20oz and a small fry (sweet potato or normal ones). Their small fry will feed two adults, like five guys, they add extra fries.
Local place uses local beef, veggies, and bacon. Wendy’s I get mystery meats. I’m hoping it’s fresh but we know none of it is.
If you get an equal product at Wendy’s it would be around $14.69. You will get the large shit fries and a liter of cola. I’ll take the local place. For the record I picked the cheapest meal Wendy’s had bc most families would look for a “deal”. There is the cheaper menu which has jr burgers but my local place has sliders for more $4.45 compared to the $2.49 jr burger. However I can get a good medium rare slider with normal toppings for the $4.45. I will still take that. More food for cheaper.
Large big Mac is $12.21 so I was off by $2.79
Full dinner for my family of 4 at McD’s us $65.
Full dinner at my locally owned restaurant that offers takeout plus lunch the next day from leftovers - $70.
Full dinner for my family of 4 at McD’s us $65.
That is fucking bananas in pajamas bananas.
That is bottom tier food for even fast food. $65??!?
It costs $65 for two dinners from my local Indian restaurant and those dinners can serve two. Our serve two for 2 days.
wtf
Eat local. Better food, superior quality, and it keeps money in the neighborhood.
It’s not just fast food unfortunately. Sit down restaurants, even mom and pop ones are through the roof in pricing as well. Even groceries to cook at home are crazy these days with the pricing
I stopped going to five guys three years ago when a burger, fries, and a drink hit over $20. I’m not sure the local place was ever under $10.
Wendy’s 4 for $4 meal still going strong.
4 for $6 where I am :(
One Jr Bacon cheese burger is now $3.49 where I am, there are no longer 4 for deals…
i haven’t gotten fast food regularly in years (only once this year, trip to taco bell, feelin a bit proud tbh), but i have been lucky enough to WFH for a lot of that. when you’re starving and want something you just want it, even if it’s overpriced garbage. i dread the day of having to work an office job again.
what really pisses me off is the psychological manipulation: these companies think they can just rewire our brains with their dogshit marketing. ohh $3 is actually fair for 1 hashbrown. there was never a ““dollar menu””. they don’t even list the damn prices on their website like a normal restaurant. it’s so fucking shady and dishonest, the whole damn thing, the gray prison architecture, taking away the soda fountains from customers (and making the kitchen people worry about drinks as well). it’s so so fucking sick. WE’RE the ones suffering, they’re the ones looking at graphs and DESIGNING our suffering. they don’t have to pinch pennies, they don’t have to pinch shit. fuck mcdonal i CANNOT wait to see them fall.
Good, stop eating that crap. Learning to cook was the best thing I ever did.
tHe MaRkEt WiLl ReGuLaTe ItSelF! Okay sure, for the most profit without regard for the consumer. Corporations need a heavy hand.
Explaining a dystopia to an american: imagine no burgers
🎵 Imagine there’s no burgers It’s easy if you try Imagine paying $8 For the apple pie 🎶
I’d rather be dead.
There’s always food stamps and grocery store ingredients. Make your own “Big Mac” at home?
Taco Bell’s app is a game changer, can still get a box for like $6. But that’s the only place I’ll get fast food anymore
You might want to look at the T.O.S. closely.
https://www.allrecipes.com/mcdonalds-new-terms-and-conditions-8384841
They should look at McDonald’s TOS closely because they use the Taco Bell app?
And I’m not really anticipating suing a fast food restaurant. I know what I’m getting myself into when I eat there lol
That’s like saying “I have nothing to hide, why do I care if the government listens to all of my calls”.
Why do you think a fast food corporation would want their customers waive their legal right to sue them…?
Why would I care? I’m assuming the risk by eating there in the first place. And anyway, I’m not a litigious person, if I got sick or something I’d just chalk it up as a L and go on with my life
What if you couldn’t just go on? What if their negligence seriously and permanently harmed you i.e. burns from scalding coffee, toxic chemical contamination, etc.?
Is the risk of hospitalization, or major surgery, just an L to shrug off?
Again, I ask you: why do you think a fast food company would want to sneak in an arbitration clause?
Dude just don’t eat there, it’s fine. I’ll continue to eat there using the app, idgaf
The article discusses McDonald’s but hidden gotchas in the TOS are becoming an industry standard. I shared the article because if McD is doing it, then it might be a good idea to look at your Taco Bell ToS closely, just in case.
Clearly I didn’t do a good job at making a clear statement with my previous comment.
Taco bell is the only fast food I eat as well. The rewards are pretty good. Free cheesy gordita crunch? Fuck yeah!
Amen, them shits is fire
I feel real bad for everyone living in a place where Taco Bell won the texmex fast food wars instead of Del Taco. A 1/2 pound bean and cheese burrito is still under $2, the fries I get on the side are more expensive. They were bought out by Jack in the Box so I’m waiting for the quality to start tanking, though.
I feel real bad for everyone living in a place where Taco Bell won the texmex fast food wars instead of Del Taco.
Joke’s on you, we’ve got the three seashells.
In theory this will mean a more healthy population, as people start cooking food at home, instead of eating fast food.
Sucks for people on the move though.
People who have time to cook will. Many low income families are 24/7 parenting and working with little extra time. Cooking 3 squares is just not going to happen.
People who have time to cook will. Many low income families are 24/7 parenting and working with little extra time. Cooking 3 squares is just not going to happen.
Not saying you’re wrong in some cases, but I buy these pre-cooked meals at Costco, where all you have to do is heat them in a pan/oven and serve, then they’re quick to do (and I’m a horrible cook to boot).
But I get it, it comes down to how much money you have, and how much time you have to spend to make how much money that you have.
But the bottom line is, at the end of the day, for practically everyone, eating home cooked meals is going to be better for them, than just sustaining off of fast food meals from outside 24/7.
I never said anything remotely like it’s better to do fast food 24/7
People who have time to cook will. Many low income families are 24/7 parenting and working with little extra time. Cooking 3 squares is just not going to happen.
But the bottom line is, at the end of the day, for practically everyone, eating home cooked meals is going to be better for them, than just sustaining off of fast food meals from outside 24/7.
I never said anything remotely like it’s better to do fast food 24/7
I never said you did. I was just saying that eating some Costco sold food that you have to prepare in your own home would be preferable than eating fast food 24/7.
You keep acting as it as if those are the only 2 options (3 home cooked or 3 fast food). So either you’re presenting a false dichotomy or you’re responding to something I didn’t say. Your framing is too binary and doesn’t reflect reality.
I never said you did. I was just saying that eating some Costco sold food that you have to prepare in your own home would be preferable than eating fast food 24/7.
You keep acting as it as if those are the only 2 options (3 home cooked or 3 fast food).
I’m talking about overall which scenario is healthier/better to be eating, outside food versus home cooked food, specifically what ingredients each uses and how each one is prepared.
So either you’re presenting a false dichotomy or you’re responding to something I didn’t say. Your framing is too binary and doesn’t reflect reality.
You’re misinterpreting what I’m saying, and missing the overall point being made.
It’s not a quantity issue in and of itself, it’s which of the two scenarios you choose whenever you want to eat.
Who cooks three meals for themselves? Just skip breakfast.
Cook fast meals. Meal prep.
Regardless, stop eating garbage fast food.
Dude people have families this a joke?
except that the prices of food as a whole are going up right alongside fast food.
disagree. if you stopped eating fast food only because you can’t afford it, you’re not going to all of a sudden “eat healthy.” you’re just going to switch to ramen, tv dinners, frozen tendies, or whatever other <1 minute to cook garbage from the grocery store. nothing’s happened except “cheap fast zero effort food” has become “cheap slow greater than zero effort food”
You’re not wrong, but I’m still betting that stuff you buy from the supermarket and cook at home will be healthier than what’s cooked at a fast food joint.
if by “stuff” you mean actual fresh produce, fruit, and even meat, then yes you’re right-- i’m talking about the prepackaged shit in a flashy red/yellow themed bag/box, which is as close to fast food as you can get without being fast food. that’s what people are switching to if/when they ditch the drive thru
The biggest issue is breaking the habit - when people are building new habits, some portion are going to make healthier decisions (Though you’re right, some will continue doing the next lowest effort option)
I was running between work and meeting friends for drinks last week. Lost track of time and it got past 10pm. On the way home, saw a Burger King drive-in. Haven’t had fast food in years (we eat at home a lot). What the hell.
Two discoveries:
- A small Whopper meal was over $15!
- My stomach didn’t appreciate it all night and most of the next day.
For that kind of money, you can do much better. Lesson learned.
I’ve got a couple of sealed packs of peanuts in the glove box.
Almonds also work really well for an emergency snack.
I also keep a few packs of Poptarts in case my kids lose their minds.
Boycotting McDonalds and KFC over their support for the genocide in Gaza is a good idea anyways. Unless you want to feel like eating the meat of little children.
Unrelated but a colleague of mine actually thinks that McD burgers are made out of human children’s meat lol
Boycotting is fine but trying to say you’re eating the children is psychotic
Choosing to eat terrible McDonalds burgers over not aiding a genocide is psychotic.
Fried chicken nuclear missiles
I was flabbergasted yesterday when I got 2 happy meals for the kids, a mcrispy and a filet of fish, and the teller said $30. My wife and I just stared. Wtf happened. We went there for a quick easy cheap meal while road tripping. Next time we’re packing sandwiches.
are you still staring? did you end the road trip? you really just left the story hanging there.
I don’t know your family composition, but even here in Europe, 30€ for a quick meal for 4 is fucking cheap. Like, under the poverty-line cheap.
At this point any restaurant meal we can get under 100 is good value lol
In Europe there is actually about 20% (it varies from country to country) VAT in such meals and in the countries were the price of those MacDonald’s products would be that high, the minimum salary (which is what most of people working for McD get paid) is actually high enough for people to be able to afford it.
Were I am - Portugal - a Happy Meal is about €5, but then again the local minimum wage is €820 (per month, for 40h/week, so about $5.5 per hour)
If fast food prices get unaffordable, maybe people will eat healthier in the future. I cannot see a downside to this, at least not long term.
healthy food isnt much cheaper. at least in my experience
“Isn’t much cheaper” is still way cheaper than fast food. Just changing your diet to something with less sugar, less fat, less saturated fat, less salt and a more balanced amount of carbohydrates and proteins is going to do wonders in bare months. Even if you keep your calorie intake a constant (which, with healthy food, it means you’re gonna eat a fuck ton more).
Healthy food is cheaper not for the price itself, but for the net long term benefit. Less chances of diabetes, cancer, cardiovascular diseases, while improved vitality, energy and fitness levels.
Should healthy food be cheaper? Yes, it definitely should. Should the estate subsidize or cut taxes on raw food and basic items? Hell yeah it should. Nonetheless, while we still fight and ask for that, eating healthy at home is still cheaper than buying in unhealthy fast food chains.
Unfortunately, the cost of healthier foods has gone up at the same pace. Instead people end up eating less or giving up other necessities like downsizing their housing or moving in with parents.
Raw ingredients are still affordable. If you can cook, you are easily able to live on a healthy diet for small money.
Source: I learned to cook because we were poor.
Not really. An ever shrinking head of iceberg lettuce is about $2.50. A pound of the lowest grade ground beef is about $8. Bag of store brand buns is $2. A beefsteak tomato is $1.50. Pack of store brand American Cheeses is $4.50. Add in the other condiments that are harder to break down the price of, electricity/gas cost for cooking, water for cleaning, etc., and the cost for the cheapest, crappiest version of 4 quarter lb burgers is not much different than the $8 times 4 that McDonald’s is charging and I guarantee the quality is lower (lower ratio of meat:fat in the burger, buns with more sugar and preservatives and less fresh, etc.) And this is just the consumables, not the having a kitchen to do this in, the pans, utensils, etc. Unhoused people don’t have those things.
It used to be that because McDonald’s, etc., got their stuff in bulk and used lower quality ingredients and low paid employees, they offered these products for very low profit because of high volume. Now the cost including labor, supplies, etc., is less than half of what they charge. So their profit margins are huge if they have the same number of customers. But their customer base is going to dwindle, and so the profit margins will shrink, but that’s not a concern to corporations that only focus on today’s stock prices and don’t care about tomorrow.
If your replica the the mistakes of fast food, you won’t get far. Have you tried other food options that are not burgers? Because burgers are a perfect example of expensive, but not really good food.
I was just giving an example. Sure if you avoid fresh produce, eggs, milk, or meats you might be able to make some cheap meals. But those things right now are very expensive. Beans are still pretty affordable for the nutrition.
Eggs and milk are still OK, pricewise, even if the prices have gone up. When it comes to meat, chicken is cheaper than beef, so there is no need to rely on beans if you don’t like it.
The point is that a burger is basically a very bad food item that happens to be expensive, too. Not the best thing to eat in the first place, and from a fast food place even more so.
Eggs are around $6/dozen for the cheapest right now but have been as high as $14/dozen in the last year due to the shortages from processing company consolidation. And milk right now is $6/gallon. Plus with borderline cholesterol I avoid cow’s milk. If a dozen eggs costs an hour’s labor, that’s not very affordable. Especially when rent costs more than most people make in a month. My partner lives with 3 roommates and only makes around $20/hr. Food has to be quite cheap.
My solution to making home cooking taste better than fast food was buying a fat sack of MSG and using it in everything. Truly it’s the king of flavor.
home cooking takes time and energy.
Uncle Roger that you?
I mean, that’s basically what restaurants do…
My friends and I were hanging out at my mates’ place (he used to work as a line cook), he made us all pasta and it tasted amazing.
Turns out the secret was to add a scary amount of butter, and then add some more.
Salt, butter and MSG is the secret behind half the restaurant industry.
Pretty much. But publicly MSG still has that “ooo scary and harmful” stigma to it. It’s no more harmful than salt or sugar, but some weird racism against Chinese immigrants in the 40s created that stigma.
“I ate 2 lbs of chow mein, a bucket of orange chicken, and 14 egg roll. the fucking MSG makes made me feel like shit!”
It was invented by Japanese chemist Kikunae Ikeda who studied the chemical basis of kelp. Long story short He ate soup with brown kelp flakes and wondered why the kelp tasted so good, studied it and found msg. He then discovered a way to mass produce it from wheat and soy.
Man was a food genius
Sugar too.
The calories don’t count if somebody else adds them behind closed doors.
